Mommy in the Mountains: Meet the Cousins!

Last Friday Garrett, Jude and I made our way down to the Erdman's house in Capistrano Beach. We left Mammoth after 10:00pm so that Jude would sleep the whole time while we drove. It worked great but we didnt arrive until after 4 in the morning. It made for a really long night. Thank goodness of the Mocha Alert Garrett had in Mojave!

Annabelle and Caroline are so great. It is so fun to see them and to see what a great Mom Mari is. I was telling my Mom today how encouraged I was to see how doable it is to have two so close together. I still think Mari is super Mom and have no plans to get pregnant again soon, but I am so happy to see the girls and to see her parent them so effectively. We all miss Gabe and wish he were here, but its so nice to be with his family. The uncles are doing a great job at loving the girls like their Daddy would.

Caroline is so sweet to Jude. Each time she sees him she waves, comes over to him and gives him a kiss. She is so gentle. When we introduced Annabelle to Jude for the first time, we laid them next to each other on a play mat and Annabelle got Jude's thumb in her mouth and had a good suck! Mari's mom Ginny got a picture so Ill have to get that from her. We all had a good laugh about that first meeting.

On Sunday we went to church at Grace Church, the church we attended while we lived in San Diego, and we so happy to see some friends. I miss this church so much and each time we get to go I remember why I love it so much. Having a defined vision brings such unity and freedom. More on that another time.

Monday we went to the beach and San Onofre State Beach with Garrett's parents and Grant. They too are down to visit Mari and the girls. Chandler drove up from SD as it was her day off. Jude's first beach day was a success.

Tuesday was a nice quiet recouping day. Garrett took Jude out for a two hour stroll to the Coffee Shop and down to the beach. It was nice to get such a long break and to be able to play with the little girls without distraction. Garrett left to return to Mammoth in the afternoon so that he could go back to work. What a great husband he is!

Today we took all the kiddos to the Petting Zoo. I swear there were 300 rabbits in one area... Mari reminded me of why the phrase, "Mating like Rabbits" exists. Caroline was very happy to look at all the animals. I really enjoyed seeing her run around and play. She is so aware of her surroundings and very tuned into what is going on. Its so fun to imagine what life will be like for all of us in the future.

Jude had a rough few days after we arrived. I think the traveling in addition to his shots on Thursday caused the poor eating and unusual fussiness. But its all better now, and I again have a perfect child! He is still sleeping great and loves the bath. Ill take a video soon to show what a tubby time party looks like!

Having the ability to shop has been a wonderful thing. We got Jude a Baby Einstein Activity Jumper. Even though he is a little young, he loves to stand and look around, so I thought a jumper would be a good thing. I was right! He loves it.

Picture Time:

Tummy Time with Daddy.